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Sicily declared a state of emergency yesterday as more than 400 boat people were picked up attempting the perilous sea crossing from North Africa.

The announcement by Sicily’s regional parliament will free up more funds for the migrants. The Italian Government has launched a new naval operation to police the Mediterranean, which Enrico Letta, the Prime Minister, said was becoming a “sea of death”.

Predator drones are to be deployed alongside warships and helicopters to try to prevent a repeat of the disaster off the island of Lampedusa in which at least 364 migrants, mostly Eritreans and Somalis, died.